Fathers Day Sunday

We met my family out at Grumpy Goat for brunch Sunday at 11....the service took FOREVER. The kids were pretty patient and we had no where to go so it was okay! Someone complained and we ended up getting our whole meal for free! ALL 12 of us!

After that we ran to Hy-Vee to pick up a couple things including a last minute Father's Day gift and then headed home to do some cleaning! :) The girls convinced me to put up our little pool since it was so hot, so that kept them occupied for a while.

Steve got home and was exhausted. He did his unpacking, showered and hung out for bit and then he chose BWW for dinner!

Last week the girls had their private swim lessons in the morning. My mom agreed to take them for us and then just kept them all day along with Mary. It was so nice and I think they had a lot of fun! Grandma and Grandpa spoil them and kept them busy! They did the slip-n-slide, saw a movie, went to a jumping place, went on a bike ride and of course, played some games and had ipad time!

I love this picture of them!

Mom decided to have the 3 girls spend the night on Tuesday night, so we had a free date night! Crazy to have no kids and no plans! Steve came downtown and met me at Grumpy Goat for a bit and then we headed to Confluence. The weather was so perfect (super humid for my hair but was nice to be outside!) Then we headed to 1908 in Johnston for dinner and to get closer to home...and then of course, stopped at The Boat House on the way home and we were still home by 10:30! :)

Thursday night we had Carver's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese....man the girls really like that place! They won some tickets and got some cheap toys and candy!

Friday after work I met some coworkers out for a quick drink. Figured it would be good for me to get to know some of the people in this new department. Then I met everyone at Holly and Jerry's house for dinner. They decided to have everyone over as a thank you to my parents for taking the girls to swim lessons. We hung out there until about 9 and then headed home.

Saturday I got up and ran/walked, which I hadn't done in a week. Oops. And basically we just hung out at home all day. Presley was in rare form and the attitude was too much for me to handle. She spent hours in her room. Piper and I went to the Arts Festival....and we spent more time walking there and back to the car, than we did actually looking at anything. Seriously. We saw 3 tents of art and she said 'This is boring! All you do is walk around and look at stuff!'. Ok, point taken.

The only proof we have that we actually attended the Arts Festival!

That afternoon, Presley finally turned her attitude around and was able to earn her way back into the birthday party that she wanted to attend that evening at Cascade Falls in Ankeny. A pool party, which they had to take a swimming test at, so that was nice! I left and ran home. It was the perfect night to open up the shed so we hung out. Some neighbors stopped by for a while, the kids played.
I then left to pick up Presley and this is what I found....my child going off the high dive! WTH?? I was so proud of her and I could tell she was definitely proud of herself too!

One of the girls there played on her soccer team and we saw them at gymnastics also, I told them they should stop by (mind you, this is at 9:30 at night)….so they did! They hung out, talked, their daughter and Presley played....it was nice! Once they left, I got the girls settled down in our room with a movie and headed back out to the shed. Jason and Wendy came over about 11 and left about 1!!! That is too late for any of us to be up and we were all exhausted on Sunday!

Sunday we did sleep in! I did try to get a run in before the rain started and Piper wanted to go with me and ride her bike. I warned her that we might get rained on. I didn't realize HOW much we would get rained on. It sprinkled so we biked/ran home as fast as we could! We didn't make it, we were drenched!!! She thought it was funny and awesome but man we were soaked! Once we turned the corner to our street we saw Steve getting in the car leaving....he was going to come find us and pick us up! Isn't he sweet? :)

That afternoon we really didn't do much. Steve and I were tired and lazy! The girls played pretty good. Presley was in a good mood and Piper was the sassy one! We got ice cream for lunch, b/c why not?!

Presley's friend Madison rode her bike over and they played for a couple hours. Talking, hanging out like two teenagers.

We watched the storm roll in, had frozen pizza for dinner and did our Sunday night routine like always! We have a busy 4 weeks ahead of us, July is going to fly by! So wish me luck in that I'm able to keep up on this blog! 

Father's Day Weekend (without Steve)

I am a week behind on posting, UGH I don't like when that happens....but either way, the Saturday before Fathers Day (when Steve was fishing) I decided to take the girls to The Nadas at Simon Estes. They were free and we knew some other people that were going. We went to Sarah's for dinner with Jamie and their kids then we headed downtown. It was hot, but we didn't get down there until about 7:30 so it wasn't THAT bad for too long!

 I love Collins serious model face!

Piper wanted to go down front with the other kids, Presley was not interested so she took my camera and started taking pictures for me! She did a good job too!

These last two I took on our way out....about 11:45! They did pretty good, Presley had her moments but hung in there. Piper loved it, she just loves music and being close to the action so she really enjoyed it.

Friday/Saturday Fun

Monday Steve took the girls to gymnastics so that I could try to run...and I did, I ran 2 miles!

Tuesday night Steve had to work and Wednesday night I had dinner with my friend Lyndsi. We went to Gilroy's and sat on the patio, it was so nice to hang and chat with her!

So Steve had this boys weekend planned with his dad and brothers for months now. He left Thursday afternoon and it was me and girls for 3 nights. Thursday we cleaned the house b/c Presley was having her friend Quinnlyn spend the night on Friday! :) Her first 'friend' sleepover at our house!

Friday was Donuts with Dad at Generation Next. Since Steve was gone and I am not a 'dad' (per Piper) she thought Pa should go with her. So he met us there at 7 am and ate with her and took her to her room and such....she was so excited to have him there!

I left work early and met my friend/coworker Rachel for a drink. She is going thru a lot of personal stuff and I just felt like she needed to vent and I was happy to be that ear for her. Even though it was 95 degrees we were able to get a patio seat at the Grumpy Goat in WDSM and it wasn't THAT bad! I left there and ran to Hobby Lobby to get some crafts and stuff for Presley and her friend since it was going to be too hot to really be outside!

I picked up the girls and we picked up Quinnlyn and came home! Really we didn't do much, the girls hung out in the basement (like little teenagers) and did the couple crafts, we ate dinner, I made them popcorn and they watched a movie. They fell asleep about 11 and came into my room at 7 am the next morning.....UGH! They were hungry. Fine. They took donuts to the basement and didn't bother me again until 8 when they asked to go outside. Really? NO ONE in this house is outside before 10! but I figured it was going to be super hot the rest of the day so they might as well just get it over with!

I later found out that they woke up at 4 am! 3:59 to be exact per Presley! I am not kidding! I about died! I asked why they didn't go back to bed.....b/c they just watched movies! AT 4 IN THE MORNING?!
We did get ready to hit up the Johnston Green Days parade, we went with neighbors Wendy, Jason, Rebecca and Rachel. Besides Presley and her attitude (which I will have to post about later) they ended up getting a lot of candy and it didn't start to get too hot until the end!

Becca, Rachel, Piper, Quinnlyn and Presley

Patiently(?) waiting.

We dropped Quinnlyn off at home afterwards and then went home and hung out! The girls ate candy, ran thru the sprinkler, ate lunch and then had some quiet time.

(BTW, I do not like two piece bikinis on my children. She got this from cousin Mary and unfortunately loves it. I bought Piper a tankini swimsuit this year...she was mad b/c it didn't show her belly button and don't I know where her belly button is?! DUH MOM!)

I kept telling Presley she HAD to try to nap (which she hasn't done in years!). She refused (no, I'm not closing my eyes...followed by an eye roll) and soon afterwards she had fallen asleep! THANKFULLY! And while P was sleeping, Piper went outside and was driving around in the 95 degree heat.

Weekend Update

We had a pretty busy weekend but a lot of fun and I have almost no pictures! Thursday night we went out to Latitude 41 to watch Baird play. It sprinkled off and on but they have a covered area and overall it was a little humid but nice. Holly and Boston and my friend Amy joined us out there. Then Presley's old soccer coach, Tanner, came out with her friend Addie and sister Sophie. Presley was excited to have a friend there and the kids were so occupied that it was nice to just be able to sit and talk and listen to music!

I took Friday off for our annual 'schools out' girls day! We have done brunch at Mullets and the zoo the last 2 years but it was too hot for the zoo. We slept in Friday morning, had breakfast at home and then headed out about 11 to Adventureland. We decided to enjoy the day at the water park there since we have season passes. It wasn't busy, the weather was perfect, the girls were pretty good and we had a good time!
Presley enjoyed the big bucket of water that dumps on everyone, they did some of the slides and we got a tube and did the lazy river a couple times. We went to the wave pool, did the kiddie area for a while and then found one of Piper's friends in one of the pools. The kids played and I talked with his mom a while and then we headed out about 2:30 so we could get home before a meltdown started. :)

It was the perfect shed night. We invited over some people very last minute. Our neighbors Wendy and Jason came over with their girls and then Presley's friend Quinnlyn and her family rode their bikes over from their house! It was so nice for Presley to have another friend around and the kids played really well. We hung out and talked and laughed, it was a good night and the bugs weren't too bad!

Saturday we all slept in. I got up at 9:30 and ran/walked....I've been slacking since the 5k but I still want to stick with it! Everyone was sleeping when I got back and slowly, finally started crawling out of bed about 10:15-10:30ish! We all got ready...Presley's friend Quinnlyn and her mom rode their bikes to our house to pick up Presley for a playdate at their house. Off Presley went for a couple hours, Steve ran to Costco and Piper and I ran to Target!
We all enjoyed our afternoons, did some stuff around the house and got ready to head to Wendy and Jason's for Jason's 40th birthday get together! It was good, lots of kids and the adults just hanging out talking! We were there until about 9:45 and then headed home. Steve put the kids to bed and I went to Sarah's for a bit to chat and drink a bottle of wine!

Sunday was a rainy, dreary day! I got up and went to my friend Lyndsi's baby shower! I LOVE that is pregnant and getting to enjoy the fun that comes with it! She has got a great group of girls supporting her and Scott during this awesome, stressful transition into becoming a family of 3! So excited for them!
Once I got home from the shower, we really didn't do much the rest of the afternoon! Steve took Piper fishing during a break in the rain. Presley and I hung out at home....I tried to nap and she wanted me to play American Dolls with her, which I did for bit! :)
Other than that, we just chilled at home, ordered pizza for dinner, did showers and got ready for our first week of summer daycare/KTC!

The end of 3rd grade!!!!

Monday we started summer gymnastics, it is so nice having them on the same night and same time! Steve was busy, so I was able to leave work a little early and take them.

Tuesday Steve had to work late so I picked up the girls and we ran to El Mariachi for dinner and they were actually good so we stopped by Van Dee's and got ice cream on the way home! We got home about 6, played outside for a while and then did baths and got ready for bed!

Wednesday was the last day of school, finally.....for some reason we were the last school to get out. They have their friends/family BBQ, Steve was able to go and have lunch with her and hang out for a bit. He got some great pictures of her and her friends that I just adore! She has such a good group of little girlfriends right now!

Quinnlyn, Madison, Leah, Presley, Addie, Evelyn

The girls with their 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Jaworski. Presley loved her teacher and learned a lot! Thank you Mrs. J!

Saturday Fun Day

Saturday night we had Brittney come babysit. Our friend Kruse was in town to run the Dam to Dam and it turned out my Uncle Dave and Steph were also doing the same thing and wanted to meet up for dinner and drinks that evening. We decided to meet at The Hall....it was a good place to get a nice big table for 12 of us and hang out and talk on the patio!

I always give Kruse a hard time for his long hair....I always threaten to put a man-bun in it...this time, I French braided it! Oh yeah! He was super happy about this!

His friend Dennis, who I used to know a million years ago, also has nice long hair and was just begging for a braid too! :)

 They took them out immediately after this picture was taken....I don't understand why! :)

 Me, Fish (who I also knew a million years ago) and Kruse.

It was a good, fun night and we were home by midnight, so not too bad! :)
Sunday was a lazy day, we hung out around the house, did some chores, Steve smoked pork and made a nice dinner. We then packed some things and headed to Earlham to watch The Sheet play for their Sunday music in the park. The weather was perfect, most of Steve's family was there hanging out and listening to some good music. They had a good turn out and we got home too late once again!

Short week

Since it was Memorial Day week we lucked out that we didn't have gymnastics on Tuesday or Wednesday for the girls!  Kind of odd having 2 open nights! Thursday I was able to go out with some work people! And then Friday we decided to do a quick dinner at El Mariachi and then go out to Prairie Meadows for the horse races and the band The Sheet was playing there also. Our neighbors Wendy and Jason and their girls Rebecca and Rachel were able to join us and I think everyone really had a good time! The weather was perfect, the kids were good (minus Presley's attitude), Steve and I actually came out even on the horse betting we did (we bet the high stakes of $2/bet!)

Piper, Becca, Presley and Rachel

 I finally got a good picture of us, despite Presley's bunny ears on me!

We got home way too late but we are lucky with our kids on the weekends! If they wake up, they get their ipads and leave us alone! :) I rolled over at 10 am!  Steve and Piper ran to the grocery store and Presley and I hung out around home. I did some laundry, cleaning, organizing. Going thru all of Presley's school papers, folders, notebooks and such that she has brought home from school. (on side note, she has school thru Wednesday this week! It seems most of the other school are already done!)
I found these Girls on the Run things in her bag....a great picture of the girls, everyone had signed.

…….her certificate and her 'identity card' where she had put different adjectives about herself....some of them I can't even read (the ones I could...enjoy, encourage others, the beach, be kind, happy, persistent)

If I haven't said it already, I really like this program. It is very uplifting and encouraging. It promotes teamwork and confidence and being healthy. I loved it for her! :)